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“We will need national solidarity”

Julia Pascual

Written today at 4:24 am, updated at 10:46 am.

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Close-upThe government and public associations are mobilizing to organize the reception of Ukrainian refugees, the number of which is still small and will increase.

Two weeks after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the reception of refugees in France is organized in an atmosphere of general mobilization, uncertainty and fear. More than 10.5 thousand people have officially arrived from Ukraine since February 25. But this figure is actually a border guard estimate that does not capture all crossings. In addition, many Ukrainians pass through France only to travel to other European countries such as Spain or Portugal, where pre-existing communities are more numerous. Today, no one knows how to subtly capture the reality of the Ukrainian presence in France.

On the evening of Friday, March 11, Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin tweeted about the forthcoming reception of 2,500 Ukrainian refugees in Moldova as part of a wider transfer operation to voluntary countries, coordinated by the European Commission.

Ukrainian refugees at a reception center near the Porte de la Chapelle in Paris on March 10, 2022. Ukrainian refugees at a reception center near the Porte de la Chapelle in Paris on March 10, 2022. ABDULMONAM ISSA FOR “PEACE” Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers The European Union is mobilizing to receive refugees

While the European Union has decided to grant temporary protection to Ukrainians, almost 800 adults in France already benefit from it. We also know that about 4,500 people fleeing the war have already received housing from the state, mainly in the Île-de-France, but also in Haute-de-France or Grand Est. On Friday, more than half were still in those rooms. Two-thirds of them are women and children. There is also a third of non-Ukrainians, including students or residents of the Maghreb, West Africa and Pakistan, some of whom speak French.

“It’s a coincidence that we’re in France”

At the first reception center opened in the 18th arrondissement of Paris and operated by the association France Terre d’Asile, which acts as a pick-up point, we met Nicolas Plieschu on Thursday 10 March. This Ukrainian has been living in France for two years and works illegally at construction sites. He accompanies his wife and 10-year-old son, who arrived the day before from Kyiv, to the first collection point. “A colleague installed them at his house yesterday, but we can’t stay,” he says. Nicola is worried. “We don’t have a house, we don’t have a lot of money. I don’t know how my wife will find a job. She was an accountant in Ukraine. »

In the first reception center, people are referred to emergency accommodations, mainly hotels in the Paris area. In Nanterre, Ibis welcomes more than 150 people under the direction of Emmaus Solidarité. Marina Migova, 47, lives there with her 17-year-old daughter Polina. They had already fled the Luhansk region when it was taken over by pro-Russian militias in 2014 before leaving Kyiv on March 4. “We happen to be in France,” says Marina Migova, a seamstress by trade. There are already many people in Poland. The mother of the family says she wants to return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

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